Under the patronage of HM King Abdullah II, The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC) organized its 3rd international conference on January 22-23, 2008. Senior Muslim leaders and Christian heads of every church in the Middle East participated in the conference. Also participating was an envoy of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, in addition to scholars and civic leaders interested in interfaith dialogue.

Gathering in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in the homeland of coexistence, security, and land of the Amman Message, of moderation, tolerance, human justice, love and acceptance of the Other, met on the land which is a part of this blessed region where security and peace prevail.

The participants reiterated that, as people who believe in the One God, and as people of the same legacy of coexistence in this region, Muslim and Christian, they seek in this difficult era, to build together their present and future society in a spirit of mutual responsibility so that comprehensive peace and real justice prevails in the region and in the world as a whole.

The participants asserted their agreement on the following:

Respect of religious freedom and belief

Respect of all messengers (and prophets), holy books, and religious texts and prohibition of any desecration.

All holy places should be respected and made freely accessible to believers.

All religious symbols must be respected and any desecration should be prohibited and prevented.

Respect for responsible freedom of expression which does not harm the belief and feelings of others.

To continue dialogue and cooperation among people so that justice, peace, development and decent living, called for by the human and religious teachings of the heavenly religions, can be achieved.

To expand dialogue from the circles of the elite to larger community groups on the basis of cooperation and mutual respect.

School curriculum must include the call for and encouragement of dialogue, acceptance and respect of the Other.

Improve the use of media to encourage dialogue between followers of different religions.

To make use of national and religious events and occasions to encourage interfaith interaction, strengthen relationships and enrich endeavors of peoples.

At the end of the conference, participants sent a telegram of thanks and gratitude to HM King Abdullah II for patronizing the conference and in recognition of his continued and generous endeavors to support coexistence.

The conferees expressed their high appreciation for the open letter “A COMMON WORD BETWEEN US AND YOU”, which was sponsored by the Royal Academy of AL AL-BAYT INSTITUTE FOR ISLAMIC THOUGHT in Amman, and signed by 138 prominent Muslim scholars representing countries from several continents. The number of signatories today has increased to over 228.

The letter announces the common ground among Islam and Christianity, namely the two main commandments; love God and love one’s fellow man (neighbor).

The conferees praised the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC) in Amman, Jordan where the Amman Message was birthed, for the generous hospitality and the fine organization of the conference. They expressed their gratitude for the versatile endeavors of JICRC in the field of coexistence at the local and international levels and complemented its initiatives in the field of dialogue between religions and cultures.
The conferees thanked the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, and the Church of Norway and also thanked the cooperation of the Middle East Council of Churches for its cooperation.

The conference issued a document entitled “Islamic Christian Interfaith Coexistence” and was signed by all participants.